Brian Koontz
Bedford County Sports
Hall of Fame
Class of 2022
Bedford County Sports
Hall of Fame
1984 Northern Bedford graduate Brian Koontz became the 3rd player in Bedford County history to be named to the Pennsylvania Big 33 game after a storied three-year career for the Black Panthers. As a Running Back Koontz ran for 1,851 yards and 29 Touchdowns in 243 carries his senior year for the 8-1 Panthers. He accumulated 3,392 yards in his career as a 3-year starter for NBC. He was a two-time ICC and Bedford County All-Star, and he played in the Ken Lantzy Finest Forty game in addition to the Big 33 game.
Koontz played for the West squad in the Big 33 contest during a
time period where Pennsylvania did not play against another state’s all-star squad. He played slotback and caught one pass in the game while playing alongside the likes of Carlton Haselrig (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Bo Orlando (Houston Oilers).
Koontz was a three sport athlete for the Panthers and earned 4
letters in Track & Field and 3 in basketball. He scored 966 points as a basketball player and briefly held the school record in the triple jump while on the track and field rack squad at NBC.
Football was Koontz’s priority and several schools, including Youngstown State, Slippery Rock, Shippensburg, West Virginia and Lock Haven were actively recruiting the Panthers star.
Koontz was impressed enough with legendary Coach George Mihalic that he settled on Slippery Rock University. He would go on to letter all four years, including two as a starting Tight End, for the Rock. He won the Carl Simmons Memorial Scholarship Award his junior year and graduated with a degree in Health & Physical Education in 1988.
Brian spent the first two years of his collegiate career playing a
wide variety of positions. He entered his
freshman camp as a running back, spent some time at slot back, moved to defensive back in the spring of his Freshman year, before moving to the TE position the spring of his sophomore year. A come from behind Homecoming game victory vs. Edinboro his senior season was one of his more memorable games, in which he caught several passes, and recovered a fumble to help the Rock to a 31-30 win.
After spending one year at Hyndman High School, Koontz was hired as a teacher and Head Football Coach at Everett Area High School. Koontz would coach the Warriors for 12 years, compiling a 58-61-1 career record and finishing as District 5 runners-up 3 times. He also served as an assistant boys’ basketball and track coach and Assistant AD at Everett during that time frame.
In his final year as the head football coach, Koontz became the Athletic Director at Everett where he would enjoy a fine 18-year career in that capacity. His focus shifted from Coaching to Athletic Administration. This transition proved successful for Koontz as he was named the Regional AD of the Year in 2014 and State
Athletic Director of the Year in 2015. He has also served as the Western Jr. High Representative for PSADA and has been the organizations financial manager for nine years. During his tenure as Athletic Director, Brian oversaw facility improvements, including a new state of the art fitness center, upgrades to the High School Athletic fields, and resurfacing of the track. In addition to these facility upgrades, Everett reintroduced the sport of rifle at the varsity level and helped provide opportunities for students to participate in other sports through a variety of cooperative agreements with neighboring schools.
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Koontz played for the West squad in the Big 33 contest during a
time period where Pennsylvania did not play against another state’s all-star squad. He played slotback and caught one pass in the game while playing alongside the likes of Carlton Haselrig (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Bo Orlando (Houston Oilers).
Koontz was a three sport athlete for the Panthers and earned 4
letters in Track & Field and 3 in basketball. He scored 966 points as a basketball player and briefly held the school record in the triple jump while on the track and field rack squad at NBC.
Football was Koontz’s priority and several schools, including Youngstown State, Slippery Rock, Shippensburg, West Virginia and Lock Haven were actively recruiting the Panthers star.
Koontz was impressed enough with legendary Coach George Mihalic that he settled on Slippery Rock University. He would go on to letter all four years, including two as a starting Tight End, for the Rock. He won the Carl Simmons Memorial Scholarship Award his junior year and graduated with a degree in Health & Physical Education in 1988.
Brian spent the first two years of his collegiate career playing a
wide variety of positions. He entered his
freshman camp as a running back, spent some time at slot back, moved to defensive back in the spring of his Freshman year, before moving to the TE position the spring of his sophomore year. A come from behind Homecoming game victory vs. Edinboro his senior season was one of his more memorable games, in which he caught several passes, and recovered a fumble to help the Rock to a 31-30 win.
After spending one year at Hyndman High School, Koontz was hired as a teacher and Head Football Coach at Everett Area High School. Koontz would coach the Warriors for 12 years, compiling a 58-61-1 career record and finishing as District 5 runners-up 3 times. He also served as an assistant boys’ basketball and track coach and Assistant AD at Everett during that time frame.
In his final year as the head football coach, Koontz became the Athletic Director at Everett where he would enjoy a fine 18-year career in that capacity. His focus shifted from Coaching to Athletic Administration. This transition proved successful for Koontz as he was named the Regional AD of the Year in 2014 and State
Athletic Director of the Year in 2015. He has also served as the Western Jr. High Representative for PSADA and has been the organizations financial manager for nine years. During his tenure as Athletic Director, Brian oversaw facility improvements, including a new state of the art fitness center, upgrades to the High School Athletic fields, and resurfacing of the track. In addition to these facility upgrades, Everett reintroduced the sport of rifle at the varsity level and helped provide opportunities for students to participate in other sports through a variety of cooperative agreements with neighboring schools.
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Class of 2022
Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford County, Pennsylvania